The Denial in the partners
by SpkyG
Summary: A First Case back fic post S3. Brennan and Booth are having difficulties after his "death". Brennan's anger is difficult to dissipate and slightly irrational if the finale is any indicator. How will their first case back go with this tension in the air?
1. The Fantasy in the Anthropologist

Disclaimer _: I do not own Bones or any of it's characters_

_**Ok, I'm just gonna kinda run with this and see where it takes me. There will definitely be more chapters and I'm hoping to kinda write my own season two until the show starts back up again. HH has revealed apparently that there will be a real lip lock in season 4, so that will hopefully make the advancement of their relationship in this story not quite so farfetched. I'm a firm believer though that Booth and Brennen will do whatever they can to fight crossing that line even as their bodies and hearts betray their rationality. I do not believe that it will be a romantic, We made love now we're together forever. I believe that it will be stop and start and creating much amusement with the awkwardness and whatnot as people slowly pick up on it at the lab, hopefully over season 4 and 5. I do not want Bones and Booth to be officially together for a while yet as I get so excited over every little tidbit right now that I feel it would slightly ruin it. **_

The Fantasy in the Anthropologist

A part of her hoped that she would wake up soon and find this was all a dream. That same part of her also feared that possibility. The reason that one part of her felt both conflicting emotions was because it was the only part of herself that she allowed to waste it's time reflecting on the past which she could not alter. Such hopes and fears were useless. It was the one place where science had failed her, not taught her how to completely rationalize emotions. They are just chemicals within the body really, so why couldn't she discount them? Why couldn't she ignore them? It amazed her how these chemicals could cause tears in her eyes when her brain said that it was a waste of her bodies effort. It wouldn't change anything. The chemicals rushing through her seek to dilute themselves by releasing water from the tear ducts; as if that could make a difference. She wondered briefly if she felt so angry and betrayed because she refused to allow that dilution.

The whole group has a few days off of work, as if any amount of time could make it feel normal to be back in the lab, in her safe haven...without Zach. She remembered how robotic he had been when they had tested a knife on a dummy in the lab to determine what body weight best fit the evidence. Had he been so unemotional when he'd murdered the lobbyist? Had he behaved like it was a dummy in the lab?

After reminiscing in the lab with her team, she had sat with Booth for a few minutes before she stopped finding his presence comforting and resorted back to anger. Not having enough energy to pick another fight, she had just left. She hadn't seen Booth for a couple days now. He had tried to call her but she wasn't ready to go there again yet, so she hadn't answered.

Her reactions to him were scaring her. She had never been so angry at someone, yet wanted to be near them so badly, in her entire life. When she busted into his bathroom to argue, she had wanted more than to just be near him. She had never seen anything as gorgeous as Booth standing before her naked and soaking wet. His body is really well proportioned and his muscles defined. He's a very well structured male specimen as she had once told him. When he stood up that night she was not taking inventory of all the muscles and the bones beneath them. In that moment she looked at him threw the eyes of a woman, not a forensic anthropologist.

"_I took a bullet for you!" "Once! That only goes so far" _He hadn't picked up on the meaning within that statement. There were so many other things that she needed from him but could never ask for. One grand gesture didn't make up for all the other things that she felt she lacked from him sometimes. One thing she was lacking seemed very obvious. They'd stared at eachother for a few minutes, both weighing their options until reality kicked in. They were still partners and that damn line still existed, so she offered him a towel. What she'd really wanted was for him to step towards her. Despite her anger she had been aroused. Her nipples tightened at the thought of his wet chest pressed against her own, the water cooling between the two of them, removing some of the friction that she so desperately craved from him. So many details of what having sex with Booth would be like swam through her head in that very short time. She'd imagined his eyes continuing to bore into hers while he stepped forward pushing her up against the vanity. His body imprinted on her where her clothing had been dampened by him. It had sent a slight chill through her just thinking about it.

Never breaking eye contact he would have grabbed her around the thighs and lifted her onto the vanity, spreading her legs in the effort. His hands would move back to her lower back, where she was used to having them, and press her against him; his wetness to hers. Any doubt about his intentions removed. He would be breathing heavily and she barely at all, afraid to miss what would happen next. She would slowly gyrate against his cock, wanting more contact, almost whimpering cause it's being withheld.

"If that only goes so far Bones, what else do you need?" He would whisper this into her ear while his thumb lightly caressed her nipple. No other contact but that between their pelvis', his fingers lightly on her side and his thumb on her breast. So little contact really, yet even sex had never compared to it for her. The memory of what played through her head was still so vivid that she almost can't believe it wasn't real.

At that point she would have grasped him roughly behind the head, knocking his ridiculous beer hat to the floor, neither of them caring, and pulled his lips to hers. At the same time her legs would clench behind him. If she had no clothes on she had no doubt that she'd be pulling him inside of her where she was so ready for him already. As it was, it created just enough friction on her clit to be frustrating as hell without giving any real satisfaction. She would immediately thrust her tongue into his mouth in rhythm with the clenching her legs, trying to mimic the action that she had so wished was taking place. He'd groan into her mouth and due to their proximity she would have felt it everywhere, not just in her mouth, but still not as much as she'd like.

She'd reach down to the hem of her shirt and pull it off as if burned. His hot mouth would instantly be on her, her hands running down his still glistening back finally feeling all his muscles underhand. His tongue would play in little circles at her cleavage as he nipped every now and again, pleasure overwhelming any pain. As one hand reached behind her and undid the hooks to her bra, the other would reach down in between them and rub her between her very wide open legs. At this point she could imagine that Booth would moan out her name. She loved the idea of him being turned on from touching her and it was her fantasy after all. She'd arch forward in anticipation already wanting to rub against him, her arms and legs clutching him to her, proving to her that he wasn't dead. He pulled the bra away and kissed her desperately, bordering on rough. She could feel her lips swelling as their teeth clashed while their tongues fought for dominance.

Now both of his hands would have reached up to cup her and tweak and pull her nipples then lightly sooth them, sensitizing the peaks until she could barely stand it when he removed the friction that only he could provide her. His hands being on her breasts would afford her the room to finally reach down and stroke him. She could imagine him hard and throbbing in her hand, thrusting out to great her, wanting more of her. After seeing the size of him when he stood she had been itching to do that in reality as well as fantasy. She would wrap her fingers around him, relishing the effect she had on him and the lack of control he would have as he bit down slightly on her lip while his tongue tickled it at the same time.

Imagining the lack of control she could cause him though did nothing to help with her current situation. She was angry at him and she was scared. She wanted him to prove how alive he was, and at the same time she didn't want to picture him so vividly alive cause it would make it harder if that were to ever change. She knew she'd have to face him soon and actually talk to him because he would insist. He would say that as partners they needed to be in sync, that as the centre, they had to hold now more than ever. She was anxious to get back to work and try to find her new groove in what felt like an entirely new life. Work always helped.


	2. The Term in the Deal

**Ok, so at the end I'm not sure if Booth would actually stoop to some of the childish antics in this story, mainly the part about the three little pigs and the rather obvious part at the end. I found it amusing and couldn't help myself, but feel free to let me know if you find it OOC as it will help me refine my character writing in the future.**

Booth was sitting on his couch drinking a beer, with the tv on for background sound.Tomorrow they started back to work. Cullen had called him and told him to go straight to the lab before heading to his office. Apparently him and his squints had a mandatory meeting with Sweets at 9:00 sharp. He had wanted to meet with Bones before their giant group therapy session but he was pretty sure she was screening her calls. After he had promised to tell her personally the next time he fake died, she had lost some of her hostility towards him, but then again, it was difficult to be hostile when she was avoiding him so completely. He was pretty sure that there was an underlying cause for her hostility and avoidance, but he didn't want to push it too soon.

He got up and walked across his semi dark living room to turn off the TV. Heading to bed so that he could be prepared for the day tomorrow. He would need his strength and mental alertness. As he climbed into bed in only his boxer shorts, he thought of Bones. He wished he could say that this was an uncommon event, but it had been happening more and more frequently since Christmas time. He still smiled when he thought of how quickly she had shot down his offer to try to talk Miss Julian out of her puckishness. Many of his more vivid dreams about Bones didn't compare to the memory of her grabbing him by the front of his shirt and pulling him to her. It left little doubt in his mind that Bones would be an active and demanding partner when they did eventually move their relationship to another level. He had no idea when he had started thinking in terms of when instead of if. He was almost asleep when he heard the knocking at his door.

It was very insistent, supplying very little sensitivity to his attempted sleeping patterns. The confidence of the knock left him with very little doubt as to who he would find on the otherside of it. There was after all, only one anthropologist that he had pissed of this week. Looking through his peephole confirmed his suspicions and he opened up the door to his partner who ducked under his arm and entered his apartment without an invitation.

"Bones, to what do I owe this, uh, pleasure?" He asked. He was glad to see that the avoidance was gone, although he feared that it would come with a reinstatement of the previous hostility, and sleep depravation.

"We have to meet with Sweets tomorrow." She stated as she crossed her arms, staring at him from a few feet inside of his apartment.

"Today Bones, To Day" He stressed both verbs separately and pointedly. "Today, as in later, stemming from the verb late, which, huh, what do you know, it is right now." Booth finished in a whiney voice with a pleading look on his face as he tried to usher her out the door.

"Late can be used as a verb or an adjective, but you implemented it in both circumstances, the stem being a verb but the latter usage being an adjective for time." She pointed out with a very serious expression on her face. "And technically, it's early, because generally in this society late is a descriptive adjective" She stressed the word adjective, "for night, which ends at twelve o'clock midnight."

"Ha, then how come they call it MID night, if it's the end of the evening?" They had a moment where they just stared at eachother in frustration until he ended it, putting them both out of their misery.

"It's too LATE for this" He smiled at her and proudly denoted "Adjective"

Brennan huffed and walked farther into his apartment. He couldn't help but think "and puffed and hopefully didn't hit him in the nose again." He'd been reading the three little pigs to Parker at bed time a lot recently and was now finding parallels in his own life. Parker insisted because he was so proud that it didn't frighten him anymore. Brennan had certainly seemed like the big bad wolf recently.

Booth mumbled under his breath "not by the hairs on my chinny chin chin."

"What?" Brennan asked with a rather perplexed look on her face.

"Nothing Bones. What about the session with Sweets tomorrow?" He inquired.

"I want to get back to work and this meeting is to make sure we are fit for duty. I want to make sure that Sweets doesn't postpone anything."

"Annnd??" He raised his eyebrows and swept his hands in front of him.

"You should tell him whatever you have to to make sure he doesn't try to prevent me from working." She finished.

"Bones I.."

"He knows that we are not at our full symbiotic potential, or at least weren't, so just tell him we had dinner and discussed it, or that I apologized for hitting you and breaking into your apartment, or..."

"HA!" Booth yelled in triumph pointing his finger at her. "Breaking into, as in breaking and entering as in against the law! I don't know what this country is coming to when a guy can't even take a bath in his house without some crazy person breaking in, but that's not the country that I fought a war for and it's not the country that I" Booth pointed at himself now "dedicated my life to protect"

"For the record, I don't apologize and I know we didn't discuss.." Booth cut her off yet again

"And that's exactly why I'm not gonna tell Sweets that you did or that we did. I am not comfortable lying to children."

"You lie to Parker all the time!"

"I do not lie" He stressed the word lie and paused "to Parker"

"You told him that Peru is in Africa, you tell him that Santa Clause exists and that God is a real entity who can hear his prayers.. and that's just.."

"Whoa Whoa Whoa Bones, back up the train"

"What train?"

"It's, The train is hypothetical, we've been OVER the Santa thing and I'm getting a little tired of you attacking my religion."

He was fuming at her now. If she'd come over here just to start a fight he didn't see how it was worth the effort, only succeeding in depriving both of them of sleep. It was addictive though, trying to make her angry, and he was being oh so successful tonight.

"Tell you what Bones, I'll do it, on one condition." An ingenious plan had formulated in his mind. He was maybe being a bit childish, but two can play that game. They both needed someone to take their frustrations from the past few weeks out on anyways, it might as well be eachother. She arched on eyebrow at him and cocked her head.

"My face still hurts." Booth started, pointing to his cheek near nose on his left side "So you kiss it better for, uh...5 steamboats, and I'll take that as your nonverbal apology and will be completely willing to tell Sweets that you apologized." He stated his terms very calmly and somehow managed to stop himself from smirking, well, almost.

He wasn't prepared for it when she stepped forward into his personal space and tilted her head up so their cheeks were parallel, her face turned slightly towards him. He felt his breathing hitch a little as he became very aware of her proximity and her breath on his face. He could feel the angry tension between them fade into sexual tension almost as acutely as he could feel his body's response. Taking her time she leaned up even further to whisper in his ear.

"Booth, I'm glad your face still hurts." She stepped around him and walked to the door, slamming it slightly as she exited the premises.

Booth let out an angry grunt and clenched his hands as if strangling someone that came to his waist. He locked the door and stomped off to bed.


	3. Therapy in the Jeffersonian

**First off I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to supply reviews. Before I started writing fanfic I never really wrote reviews or considered how much they lifted the spirits. Please feel free to continue and make any character, plot, grammar, or any other suggestions that you'd like. I love the input. **

_**Disclaimer : Not Mine**_

"Remember everybody, this session is to make sure that everybody is feeling at peace with eachother. It is anticipated that you will all have somewhat fortified your emotions behind your disciplined natures," Sweets looked pointedly at Brennan "But I'm here to help you all break down those fortifications together."

"I'm not satisfied with that analogy." Brennan noted before she continued. "Fortifications do not come down peacefully and usually only crumble after they are not cared for, OR an attack comes from the outside that is properly suited for disrupting the integrity of the structure. Sometimes, the outside attack is even abetted by civil unrest and treachery. That doesn't sound very peaceful to me." It wasn't Sweets words that she was opposed to, it was the entire purpose of this meeting. Sweets thought for a moment before responding.

"Ok Dr. Brennan. Think of it this way. The city is sick with the plague and the fortress has no doors for escape. Think of the civil unrest as unafflicted people working with outsiders to knock down the walls to get the sick people help. Those sick people are your unpeaceful feelings doctor Brennan and they need help escaping their confinement so that they might be treated. Otherwise everything within the city will perish."

"That is exactly how plagues are spread. It's very selfish of all people involved to try to safe themselves and put the rest of the populace in danger when what is really required is a full quarantine to contain.."

"Dr. Brennan. Forget the analogy. Forgive me for not expecting you to take me literally. I should know better by now. It is totally my fault." There was a moment of silence within the room. "We're colleagues and we all share similar grief at the moment. We are going to talk about this grief until I feel satisfied that everyone is fit to return back to work. As an incentive to discuss.."

"He means spill." Booth interrupts.

"As and incentive to DISCUSS, Agent Booth, recent events, anyone who does not participate to the standards which I expect, will be put on leave until further progress is made."

"And everybody, I must advice caution" Booth added, pointing his finger in a sweep back and forth across the room. "Sweets can tell if your lying." The sarcasm was ripe on his voice.

"He has special training." Bones added.

"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth, I have other meetings today and if you both don't cut it out I will reschedule this and put all of you on leave until we can reschedule." Brennan leaned over to Booth as if to whisper, but spoke in a perfectly clear voice full of certainty.

"He's lying." She said confidently. "His breathing is slightly irratic and his face and upper body are tense, plus his eyes are open a little too wide."

"He does have that, deer caught in the headlights look doesn't he?" Booth faux whispered back. At this point Cam piped in.

"Does it not bother you that they talk about you as if you aren't sitting right there, in front of them, existing and all that?"

"I think it's hot, but I'm not the one getting ignored." Angela supplied. Not giving Sweets a chance to respond, because he really didn't care about his input, Booth responded instead.

"Listen bambi, you will let us go back to work. Just sign that paper in your hand and we can stop wasting everybodies time." Booth added directing his conversation at Sweets and pointing to the paper.

"Agent Booth, I told you in our first meeting, when you were trying to intimidate me that you were succeeding, but that will not prevent me from doing my job. Right now that job is to make sure that the rest of you are stable and able to work together. In fact, it is my own, and the bureau's opinion that yours and Dr. Brennans manditory partner therapy should be reinstated." Sweets felt a sudden victory after having delivered this news.

"Just because Booth died? I told you I had gotten over that. I'm very good at compartmentalizing as you yourself said." Brennan stated with a hint of exasperation. Booth continued the therapy session.

"I want to point out that the only person I have a problem with is the one who didn't carry out my informants list as specified."

"It's hard to take a list seriously when it's written in pink gel pen Agent Booth." All heads turned to Booth with raised eyebrows.

"What! It's not as if I carry the thing around with me, it's all the little girl beside me had and she offered it and you know what the colour of the list is not the point." Booth strongly stressed the last three words in the sentence as he pointed his finger towards the floor in a jabbing motion "The point is that it's an important list."

"Sweets thought it was a matter of national security and he did what he thought best Booth, we've been over this. You should have told me."

"And we've been over that I thought you knew! Which is by the way, why I assumed that you weren't crying at my funeral, but you were apparently just too compartmentalized to notice where you were." His voice was rising a bit in volume.

"You should have told me personally and I didn't even want to go to that funeral, Angela made me and there is nothing wrong with compartmentalizing, it's very helpful, especially when you find out your partner lied to you. You should be happy for my compartmentalizing."

"I didn't lie, I just didn't tell you."

"A lie by ommission, Booth."

"I'm sure glad these two don't have issues." Hodgins interrupted

"Shhhhh.." Angela castized. "This is like foreplay for them. Watch, enjoy."

"Everybody! I must request that we end this display. Agent Booth, Dr Brennan, you two can engage in foreplay when you are in a more private session."

"Probably doesn't even know what foreplay is." Booth muttered

"That is highly suggestive Sweets. Implying that Agent Booth and I engage in private sessions with each other is.."

"Private therapy session Dr. Brennan. Where we will discuss these feelings and I will be present. Although I find it very interesting that you immediately jump to the conclussion that my intended meaning was of a sexual nature."

Angela waggled her eyebrows "Kinky." Everyone ignored her.

"It was a logicalal assumption as the conversation was centred around the topic of inducing arousing stimulus in ..." Brennan began explaining.

"We get it Bones." Booth all but growled. Not able to prevent his thoughts from going back to the night before when she had been so close to him in his attempted compromise. He doesn't know what he would have done had she actually kissed his cheek. It was ridiculous how sexually charged the air was just from close proximity. Ahem, speaking of arousing stimulus...

The group sat in a slightly awkward silence until Angela decided to end their misery.

"Dr Sweets, we're a family here. We are all crushed by, and disagree with what Zach did, we all feel betrayed, but we all love him. We will all lean on eachother for support and none of us are going to have a psychotic break down or anything. It is good that you are here and good for us to know that you are around if we need to talk, but those of us on this side of the circle," Angela indicated the entire circle except for Booth and Brennan, "have much weaker and dessicated fortifications."

"So you are suggesting that I focus my efforts Miss Montenegro?" Sweets questioned, barely daring to flicker his gaze towards Booth and Brennan.

A smile lit Angela's face. "It would be my recommendation, and if you could get those two to finally.."

"Angela!" A chorus came from Cam, Booth and Brennan.

"What? Sweetie, the natural response when you discover that your sexy hunk of FBI candy is not dead, is not to punch him in the face. That classifies as issues. Can you spell denial?"

"D-E-N-I-A-L." Brennan itterated to the room.

"It's not a spelling bee Bones." Booth told her. Seeing her confused expression, he continued.

"It was a rhetorical question."

"Ohhh." She said as if understanding, then shook her head.

"But why would Angela want to know, rhetorically, if I could spell denial. I don't understand the basis of the question."

"Forget it Bren, just do those of us who are suffering from the sexual tension a favour and work out your issues." She leaned close to Brennan. "That's usually more fun when there is sweat and other bodily..." Seeing the glares being tossed in Angela's direction, Hodgins wrapped his hand around her mouth muffling her last words. "oooids." She finished.

"We'll be.." He pointed behind him towards the door as he backed out of the room with his fiance in tow. Everyone left in the room looked at Sweets and started to rise.

"Ok, well Dr Brennan Agent Booth, we'll see you later this week in my office. My secretary will set up a time. Bye Dr. Saroyan, and if you need to talk, well, that's what they pay me for." Sweets exited the room. And then there were three.

Cam gave the remaining partners a smile. "Angela's right ya know." And left the parners alone.

They glanced at eachother quickly and looked away.

"So, Sweets..."

"Yea." Bones pursed her lips for a moment.

"Well, with Zach gone now, I have a lot of work, that I should...do." This was spoken slowly and hesitantly. She walked to the door, leaving Booth standing alone in the room. He tossed his ball up in the air and caught it, giving it a good squeeze before exiting the room.

**Ok, so I had issues with this chapter. It took me a lot longer than expected to get ideas and make it fit without being too OOC, but again, if you see any obvious OOC moments or comments, please do point them out. From here if I can come up with any good casefile ideas I intend to try to introduce a bit of a case while we watch Brennan and Booth deal with Brennan's avoidance of and annoyance with Booth. If I cannot think up a good case then it will likely continue as a series of oneshots with a potentially fill in the gaps time line. We'll see. **

**Reviews! Pretty Please? I have no review begging shame. **


	4. The Bones in the Construction Site

**It's a bit of a transitional part of the story. You can probably get away without reading the first 3 paragraphs if you want to jump right into the plot. **

**This is leading into a case that the team will recieve, but also trying to create means for future tension between B&B (not that a means is usually overly necessary). Should be fun to play it out though. **

**Thanks to all who reviewed and I apologize for how long it's been, been busy with work and lacking ideas, but I feel their flowing now. **

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

Limbo, Brennan thought to herself. She felt an overwhelming need to put those souls to rest. She realized that identifying with the dead was different than the cold hard facts which she used to give them back their identities, however, empathetic thoughts seemed impossible to dismiss while she shared their situation. She couldn't seem to go on with her life as things had been for the past half a decade because she didn't know the new routine and she didn't know yet where she fit into it. At the same time, she recognized the need to do so as time was linear, so going back or behaving how she would, based on a different reality was impossible . It was illogical to want to do so, but the need in humans to seek stability is anthropologically understandable and therefore acceptable.

She was currently working on a limbo case that was, as of recently, missing it's canines. This victim was defiled within her territory and she felt the need to make amends. Looking at the Bones, she realized that lately she had been associating her work with Booth. She had been imagining how it could be Booth's bones on some future anthropologist's table, identified as nothing more than a casefile number. Brennan had considered the lives of these people. She had felt for their loss of life and loved ones and she had considered the emotion involved in the individuals passing, but it had been a while since she had associated herself with the grieving of the bones on the anthropologists table.

Her mother and her aquaintance Karlee had made an appearance on her table and she had realized the connection then on an ephemeral intangible level, but her realization had somehow never been quite so physical. Instead of feeling awe towards the skeletal structure's ability to withstand and remain, when she imagined Booth on the table, all she saw was what was missing. For two weeks that had been all she could seem to think about, even though Booth was not yet in that stage of decomposition.

She finished placing her facial reconstruction markers and headed to her office to check her email, passing none of her co-workers on her route. As she approached her office, she heard her landline emitting a resonance that she found acoustically offensive at the moment. She pulled it off of it's cradle to end the ringing and held it to her ear.

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"The Get up screams murder and mayhem. Where is our favourite FBI agent?" Brennan was wearing her field coveralls and carrying her field kit. Angela surveyed the area for said FBI agent. Unsatisfied with her end results she raised an eyebrow at Brennan.

"Booth is not my favourite FBI Agent and my expertise is not monopolized soley by identification processes as contracted out be the Federal Bureau. I have many alternative occupational contractors and interests. I don't need Booth to leave the lab." Brennan responded in a defensive nature.

"Booth isn't your favourite? Is there another FBI Agent that I was not told about? You know sweetie, as best friend I have certain knowledge rights and if I feel that those rights are being violated I can be forced into drastic measures. Spill."

"I don't know other FBI agents well enough to make such a qualitative proclamation." Angela's face fell slightly as her suspicions ran out of steam.

"So then why do you need the latex and sexy coveralls?" Brennan ignored the suggestive nature of Angela's inquiry.

"A body was found during a construction excavation and I've been asked to examine the bones and suggest a course of action, namely whether they should call an archeaology team or the authorities. Burial Depth indicators will likely require the latter course of action, but I don't want to rule anything out before seeing the remains, especially on a site where bones could have been relocated from their original position." Brennan had started heading towards the exit of the building, continuing on her intended path. Before being rather loudly reminded that Angela was not done talking.

"Please tell me that your doing this to piss Booth off in anticipation of wickedly intense make up sex." Angela half yelled across the room, causing several occupants to look up from their varied tasks. She paused, then headed back to Angela, watching Angela's smile grow in proportion to her proximity.

"I almost forgot, could you please tell Cam where I went, and indicate that I should be back before the end of the day. Thanks" With that, she managed to exit the Jeffersonian before her coworkers learned more fictional aspects of her personal life.

Angela watched her retreat with her arms crossed and her toe tapping the ground in a stacatto rhythm. Brennan was mad at, and avoiding Booth who was angry at her for being angry at him. They were behaving like a couple of highschool kids.

Hodgins was calling her name from the platform, but she was already lost in the stitching of her rather crude plan, and didn't hear him. Instead of trying to calm the waters as she had been, maybe what they really needed was someone to stir the proverbial water a little more until the waves were large enough to ride out. A mischievious smile appeared yet again on Angela's face, and this time it didn't fade for quite some time.

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The location of the remains was about a half an hour from the the Jeffersonian with mid day traffic. Brennan parked on the street and opened her door. The sun blinded her as she stepped out, and she quickly put her hand above her eyes as a shield. One of the few good things about a crimescene was that it was usually pretty obvious where she needed to go as all she had to do was follow the yellow caution tape and commotion. Today was no different than any other, minus a certain FBI agent.

Brennan had recently signed up as a municipal archaeologic consult. Most of her cases regarded whether or not construction work had to be ceased in order to excavate artifacts. This one may be a little closer to her usual work, but she wasn't doing this to piss off Booth as Angela suggested.

As she approached the scene a male in his mid fifties approached her. As he got close he held out his hand intending a greeting.

"Dr Brennan?" She nodded her confirmation.

"Great, I'm Dwayne Baumont, I'm the foreman of the crew who found the remains. We're hoping you'll be able to tell us what actions we are required to take." They began walking farther towards the site as they finished their greeting.

"Obviously I'll need to see the remains, but I'll also need to speak with the operator who uncovered them."

"Well, your looking at him so ask away."

"The first priority will be to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the victim such as, and most importantly, how long they have been here. Are the bones still insitu?"  
"No ma'am." He stated while grasping the brim of his baseball cap and adjusting it slightly. "but I can show you where they were lifted from and tell you that depth was anywhere from half a meter to a meter."

"I was informed of the depth, which does indicate even before examination, that we are dealing with a crime scene and not an archaeologic find. However, I would appreciate it if you could direct me to the remains."

"They're right this way." He stated and headed back from the direction whence he initially came. The day was really warm and Brennan was already working up a slight sweat. She didn't want to consider how the temperature would likely have increased later in the day, when she would in all likelihood be back with Booth.

As she approached the body she could already tell that it was no archaeologic find. The bones still contained dried tendons and other more resistant soft parts. It was encased in a porous media with high temperatures and a medium amount of water influence. She would guess it had been here for at least three months, possibly up to before winter, although it was likely not present for more than 6 months. Further analysis would be necessary to further ascertain a time frame.

As Brennan studied the bones a shadow covered the ground in front of her making it nearly impossible to continue her study.

"Your position is disadvantageous to the quality of illumination of the site." The shadow didn't move dispite her obvious irritation. She stood and looked at the opaque obstacle not bothering to hid the frustration written on her face. Mr Baumont continued to look confused and raised his eyebrows in question. He hadn't understood her request. She didn't need to examine the body in further detail at the moment and decided to let it go.

"I definitely suggest calling the local authorities immediately. The remains are relatively fresh and a controlled excavation will likely be required incase this site contains multiple burials." She was never the one who was good at reading people, but even she could see that this was not news that the foreman cared to hear. Money pays the bills better than dead bodies, for most people anyways.

This would likely be her teams first case back, and she was curious to discover her teams new dynamic, and dreading it at the same time. With that Brennan headed back to her vehicle, knowing that she would have to wait for the official call before removing or further examining the remains. It was a waiting game from here.

**Reviews? More reviews make it more tempting to post...Again I say, I know there is not too much happening here, but it will pick up in the next chapter.**


	5. The Redundancy in the Bug Boy

Booth had spent his day in boredom. No new cases, no paperwork left as he'd finished it the day before after the therapy session, and no Bones to bicker with. He recognized briefly how odd that would sound were he to say it outloud to anyone who didn't know of his nickname for one Dr Temperance Brennan. He sat back in his office chair tossing his stress ball into the air and leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling as he caught it. Just before Booth caught his second toss, his phone rang and startled him into missing.

He felt the ball bounce off his chest, and watched it roll across the floor as he contemplated not answering. He felt apprehension at the knowledge that it might be Sweets calling to schedule his and Bone's private session in which they might continue their "foreplay". He definitely wouldn't mind a private session full of more than just foreplay with Bones. Having Sweets there would, however, cramp his style. Then again, Bones might do that a bit more literally, all by herself.

Booth answered the phone to hear his boss's voice beckoning him to his office.

Booth walked back in to his office and grabbed his suit jacket from the hooks on the wall. As he walked to retrieve his briefcase, casefile in hand, he pulled out his cellphone and dialed the Jeffersonian's lead forensic anthropologist.

"Brennan"

"Bones, we've got a case. Get all your squint gear together, I'll be there in 20 minutes."

"The site is north of your office, Booth, and the Jeffersonian is south, making it an unnecessary detour. Hodgins and I are ready and we'll meet you there." Booth faltered a little opening his briefcase to insert the casefile.

"You don't know where the site is, that's my job," Booth pointed to himself, although no one was there to see "and why do we need bug boy?" Silence followed. Booth pulled his phone from his ear to see that the line was disconnected. He slammed his briefcase closed. "It's my crime scene, mine." Booth muttered to himself as he ran out the door to insure that he arrived before his squints. He had no idea how Bones knew what was going on, he was always the one to inform her of a new case. Exiting his office and taking the elevator to the parking garage, Booth drove to the crimescene.

When Booth pulled onto the crimescene he was very satisfied to see that he had beaten the squints. His brief hopes that they had gotten lost on the way were dashed as the Jeffersonian crimefighting science van pulled onto the scene. He unbuckled quickly, grabbing his notepad and slipping it into his suit pocket. Bones always had everything else required.

Stepping out of his SUV he slammed the door rapidly and jogged over to the squint squad. He stopped beside them as they pulled out their preliminary tools. There were a lot of things that Booth wanted to say to Bones. He mainly had questions and although there were a great many running through his mind, many of which were much more important, he couldn't help be annoyed that their first case back admitted a third wheel.

"Why does bugboy need to be here?" Booth asked, rudely directing the question to Brennan.

"Dude, I'm standing right here." Hodgins stated sounding mildly offended.

"He can see you Dr Hodgins, stating your position is redundant."

"We never bring out..."Booth paused for a brief moment before an accurate title popped into his head "Mr. Maggot over there unless we know it's required."

"I thought it was BugBoy?"

"Apparently redundancy is not a desired trait." Booth replied. Hodgins was standing out of the way, but between the two, his head turning back and forth like he was watching a ping pong match

"You want me to desire your traits? Cause usually,"

"That's not what I,No, I don't care if you desire my traits I'm just saying that, ya know what? Nevermind, you never told me why Hodgins is here." Booth finished letting his flustered disposition fade.

"Because it's less fun to ignore my presence if I'm not standing right here!" His voice rose near the end of the comment. Neither Booth nor Brennan broke their solid eye contact.

"The body has been moved from it's original place of interment by excavation equipment. I need Hodgins here so that he can collect all the proper samples to determine time of death." Cops and the powers that be of the excavation company had noticed the arrival of the feds and made their way towards the partners.

"That's NOT in the casefile." Booth stated in almost a whisper as he started walking to keep pace with Brennan who was now headed deeper into the crimescene.

"Not yet." She replied, hoping that Hodgins was tailing them with all his necessary equipment. As Booth got in front of her and turned to ask her what was going on, the foreman of the excavation met them. Booth started introductions at the same time that Mr. Baumont began greetings

"I'm Agent..."

"Dr Brennan, glad to have you back" Brennan nodded in return and pointed to Booth, then hodgins who had come up beside her.

"This is my partner, Special Agent Seeley Booth and my associate Dr. Jack Hodgins." Dwayne shook Booths hand as he stood there in shock, which quickly turned to anger. One look at his face and Brennan could tell that Angela was right in one regard. Booth was exceedingly agitated.

**Author's Notes: It's been a bit since I posted, I've been busy with work and weekend trips (the latter being much more exciting) Didn't get very far in this chapter, the next will jump to the lab and Booth's response to Brennan's ditching. If you'd rather see it take a different direction let me know, or just review cause you're great readers!**


	6. The Files in the Lab

**Sorry its been so long, I've been out of town up near the arctic circle in North West Territories Canada (I'm living in Alberta for the summer) about 21 hours of sunlight (although it never gets completely dark) Haven't had much internet time to upload things. **

**Disclaimer: Not Mine**

She could tell that Booth was angry. It would be obvious even if he wasn't one of the few people she could read. She knew his anger stemmed from a territorial disposition in which he viewed the crime scene as his, but it hadn't made that anger any less real.

It had already been late in the day and the squints hadn't come up with anything useful for Booth's investigation yet. She hadn't spoken to him since they were at the crimescene yesterday, and they'd barely spoken there as she had been avoiding meeting his eye and his conversation.

It was nearing noon now and she would have to call him soon, as Angela should not be much longer getting an identity. The victim had been a male in his mid to late 20's. He had a lot of wear on his joints which suggests that he had an occupation, or a very frequent hobby, that required strenuous activity. She had only done a cursery examination, determining gender and age. Her initial time of death estimate was mostly accurate as Hodgins proved.

She picked up her office phone and dialed Booth's number.

"Booth."

"We should have an identity in the next half hour."

"Email me a name."

"We usually go tell the parents after..." There was silence for a moment. Booth always came by the lab. He usually made up excuses to come by.

"Right, I'll be there in half an hour" There was a dial tone in her ear, which indicated that he'd disconnected. It wasn't anger that had initially made her go to the scene by herself, nor was anger a reaction she was hoping for from Booth. She found herself getting more annoyed as this case continued.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She'd gone to the crime scene without him. He could rationalize that, she didn't know for sure what she would find and it wasn't a matter for FBI investigation yet. She didn't call him after she knew that it would most likely be their case. That was what irked him.

Entering the lab and swiping his card as he jogged up the stairs, he could see her working in the centre. Everyone else was bustling about, all the technicians and her fellow workers, and she alone was intently focused only on the bones in front of her. If he admitted it to himself, which he didn't, he wanted that attention focused on him. That annoyed him almost as much as their current circumstances. She hadn't heard his approach, so he changed his route, heading instead for Angela's office.

The artist was sitting at her desk as he entered. At a loss of how to start this without Bones, he settled on charm.

"How's my favourite Facial Reconstruction Artist?" Angela hit something quickly on her keyboard and swivelled in her chair to look at Booth.

"It's about time that somebody in this office learned that flattery will get you everywhere. Where's Bren?"

"She told me that you would have a face for me." Her telling him this on the phone half an hour ago didn't make it less true, it just made him feel a little squirmy on the inside. Angela looked at him suspiciously.

"Ok,his name is Brian Kent, 27. He was a firefighter, which explains the wear on the joints that Brennan found." Booth nodded his head as if he already knew this and clapped then clasped his hands together as he pointed them at Angela.

"Great, can you print me the file?" Angela tilted her head at him and gave him a half-knowing smile.

"Brennan already has it printed and ready to go."

"Right, of course" Booth cleared his through as he laughed a bit "I knew that, Forgot, I'll..." He nodded his head towards the door and ran out quickly. Angela turned back to her computer shaking her head.

"I warned her."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

This time Booth didn't make a false start up the platform, but continued to his destination. He got up close behind Bones before making his presense known.

"Lets go." She jumped a bit at his rapid proximity and turned to glare at him.

"You need to be briefed on the victim, see his information, and do your...gut thing." He didn't grace her with his charm smile as he usually would, but reached around her to grab the file sitting near her, speaking as he did so.

"Already done Bones. Brian Kent, 27, Firefighter." He hit the file gently with the back of his hand in success as he waggled his eyebrows.

"Meet you in the car."

Brennan looked after Booth and pulled off her latex gloves while instructing the technicians to put away the body from limbo that she had been trying to finish up before going farther with Brian Kent. It was pretty much finished, although now filing the folder would have to wait. She headed to her office and grabbed Brian Kent's folder which was sitting on her desk before heading down to the parking garage.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Booth sat in the car staring at the folder he'd grabbed. This was not helping his disposition towards his partner. Shit. Wrong folder, wrong case, wrong damn move. He saw his partner approaching and got even more frusterated. When the door opened and she got in, he kept staring straight ahead. She started organizing her area and pulled out her file.

"May I ask why you decided to kidnap my file?"

"Why weren't you working on the case? A recent murder is much more important than a limbo case from World War II." Booth grumbled as he pulled out of his parking spot and headed for the main road. This allowed him to focus on the road

"The next time you decide to tell me my priorities, I suggest you take it up with my boss, as I am not only contracted out to the FBI." With a deep sigh and a glance at Booth, she added "I don't know why I have to keep telling everyone that."

Booth took a left out of the Jeffersonian parking lot. It was as good as a right because he had no idea where he was going and he wasn't about to ask. As Brennan became aware of their dilemma, she raised her head and looked a him smugly with a satisfied smirk on her face. He glanced over at her, her awareness that he didn't know where he was going egging him on more.

Booth pulled out his cellphone dialing the Jeffersonian, then Angela's extension.

"Hey Angela, could you give me Brian Kent's parent's address?" The smirk exchanged faces and Brennan ignored Booth while shaking her head and staring out the window.

**Author's Note: I think I'm happy with this chapter, although I had no idea where it was going as I started writing it. It's a bit short, but I hope to post another one in the next few days...Reviews are like chocolate. If I haven't been responding to them it's cause I've been spending the time I can writing instead...But still love everyones input!**


	7. The Keys in the Alpha Males Pants

**Disclaimer : Not Mine**

Brian Kent, Firefighter, Single, 27, 6 foot, well muscled. Not a huge partier or multiple partner fornicater. Parents are not always the greatest source for determining someones social activities, but it was a start. Brian Kent does almost everything with his co-worker Tristan Hughes. They were going to talk to him after Booth was finished scowling on her couch and reading the file. While she was in the field Clarke was standing in as her grad student, and would likely be the permanent replacement. He was examining the body as she waited for Booth and should have an update when they came back.

Brennan had been the one to carry the interview, as Booth knew next to nothing about the details in the file. She may not be good at reading people, but she was pretty sure that it didn't help Booth's mood.

"Booth?" When he ignored her she stood up and approached him, causing him to look up from the file.

"I'll drive and you can read the file on the way"

"Yea, cause that's gonna happen."

"It's a logical course of action and will save time, allowing us to find the perpetrator in the most efficient manner. That is what you want isn't it?" Brennan crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Booth expectantly.

"Well, uh, um..." Booth stalled briefly "I get car sick if I read in the car." He finished his sentence in a rush with a victorious smile on his face.

"When was the last time you let someone else drive and actually tried to read in the car?"

"Road trips when I was a teenager. Could never read." He didn't mention that it was because he never really tried.

"So your basing your conclusion of your physical response when engaging in literature while in a moving vehicle to an experiment conducted over 15 years ago? I don't accept it's validity." She paused for a moment "You let me drive in California."

"I didn't LET you drive. You blackmailed me."

"We struck a bargain that was equally fair to both parties involved. Like a business transaction."

"If you just let me read the file instead of arguing with me, this would be much more efficient."

"Give me the keys." She said in a monotone.

"Carsick" Booth pointed at himself.

"You're acting like a child." Brennan stated, starting to actually get angry at his immature antics. He's been acting ridiculously all day and she was sick of it.

"My vehicle, I drive." Booth pointed at his chest.

At the same time that Brennan said they'd take her car, Booth said that it doesn't have a siren.

She stood still for a moment pursing her lips with her hands on her hips while meeting his glare. This wasn't their usual bantering with mild frustration lacing it. This was an actual argument more than laced with anger. Logically she knew that this wasn't actually about driving and that usually she may have given in, believing it not worth the argument. At the moment she was angry and annoyed and determined to force Booth into the logical decision. She noticed the confused look on Booth's face as she started reaching for his right pocket where he usually drops his keys after locking the doors.

When realization of her intentions dawned, he was quick to move grabbing her reaching wrist.

"What do you think your doing?!" An incredulous Booth responded.

Brennan tried to shake of his hand and when that didn't work she reached with her other hand. Booth quickly dropped the file he was holding to fight off his usurper. Booth grabbed her other wrist.

"I would think it's obvious that I'm retrieving your keys in order to be as efficient as possible." Brennan got one of her hands free, pulling it back towards her. Booth's hand darted after it giving her the opportunity to bypass his reaching hand, placing her body as a shield and reaching her hand into his pocket.

Her victory was short lived when Booth dropped her other wrist, pushing her shoulder and sending her sprawling on the couch with the force of his own body weight. Booth was holding himself off of her by bracing himself with his arms. But when she reached again for his pocket he grabbed her wrist and pinned it beside her head. His right arm no longer braced him causing him to drop to his elbow as he pinned her hand. They were both breathing heavier than usual and glaring at eachother, their legs intertwined. Booth broke the silence

"Efficient at what?" Booth asked, realizing that his lower body was flush with hers, his groin almost resting in the V that her legs make. His face only half a foot away from hers. He could feel her breath on his face. Unfortunately his brain was slowly catching up the the rest of his body which seemed to realize their proximity much quicker. Hoping that she hadn't noticed, Booth pulled back, realizing that it was a tricky position to extract himself from without touching her. He managed, albeit awkwardly.

"You don't just go sticking your hands in a guys pockets Bones." She was now sitting on the couch, no longer reaching for his pants, which were now decidely uncomfortable.

"It shouldn't be inappropriate unless of course the man is aroused, or has a penis size that is in the top percentile." She looked at him challengingly.

"Personal space Bones." Booth hissed while indicating his personal space with his hands. "And those things are a mans business, not the crazies who stick their hands in their pockets."

"I'm not crazy Booth, and you always invade my personal area."

"Personal Space, Bones, space, not area. That's, it's...Let's go." Brennan pointed to the folder on the coffee table.

"You haven't finished reading the file."

"I've read enough and you can brief me on the rest while I'm driving." He gave Brennan a cocky smile.

She grabbed her jacket without looking back at him and exited the Jeffersonian.

**Next Chapter will start to dive into the casefile and the more technical aspects. There will also be a bit more Booth and Brennan fluff coming up soon! More Reviews equal more fluff!**


	8. The Tension in the Interview

**I really wanted to make this one longer, as I was getting annoyed at how short all my chapters are. Unfortunately I ran out of time before my long weekend vacation, so I will post this and pick up my ambitions for longer chapters after my trip.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

The partners entered a dingy looking appartment complex. The elevator in the building was broken and it seemed like the the stiffling summer smog had managed to seep through the very walls of the building by the time they had reached the 8th floor. Small mercy; the building had 10 stories. The stairs had litter pushed off to the side at intervals on the way up and the paint had peeled off the hand rail in more spots than not.

Booth pushed open the door to the hallway and held it for Brennan, who pushed through, ignoring her partners presense. "_Somebody's mood is improving" _Booth thought to himself sarcastically as he pulled the door closed with more force than necessary which set the walls shaking, simultaneously speaking volumes for the craftmanship.

The door to Mr Hughes apartment was in similar shape to the stairwell, the numbers on it dangling at angles.

"Charming" Booth stated as he flicked a number with a finger, then cleaned the defiled digit on his pants.

Brennan knocked a precise three tap introduction

"Tristan Hughes?" Booth regarded her with an irritated look.

"That's my job." Booth knocked again, recieving daggers from Brennan.

"Keep your pants on, I'm coming." A voice came from behind the crooked numbers. At Brennan's furrowed brow Booth caught her attention and shook his head in a "not right now" gesture. He shushed her just as the door opened and before she could respond, adding to her amiable mood.

"Tristan Hughes?" Booth questioned, getting satisfaction at beating Brennan to it.

"In the flesh. What's up man?" He was a reasonably attractive man Booth supposed. He had blue eyes and medium length hair that fell into his eyes until he flicked his head to the side to dislodge it. He had a thin face, and Booth would guess that he was slightly younger than Brian Kent, not yet managing a more mature look, but obviously not still in his teens. Booth shook this hand.

"I'm Special Agent Seely Booth, this is my partner Temperance Brennan." Later he would claim that he forgot, and later she would not buy that excuse, but currently he could admit to himself that he got an unhealthy amount of satisfaction at intentially dropping the proper designation that usually resided in front of his partners name. If looks could kill...

Brennan followed Booth's example and shook Tristan's hand.

"DR. Temperance Brennan" She punctuated to all in ear shot.

"What can I do you for?"

"Do us for?" Brennan questioned, sounding only slightly condescending.

"Expression" Booth mumbled before continuing. "You were a friend of Brian Kent?"

"Yea, we're pals. Before he buggered off we...what do you mean were?" The smile dropped off of his face as he seemed to question for the first time why the FBI was at his door inquiring about his friend.

"I'm sorry to inform you that the body of Brian Kent was found yesterday morning." Booth said, managing to sound sympathetic while at the same time subtly stressing the word morning in Brennan's general direction. He cleared his throat.

"Ah shit. Come in." He held the door for them.

Booth placed his hand on Brennan's back to usher her in. It was far from an unusual gesture from Booth, but today she stepped away from the guiding hand, annoyed that he be taking such liberties when they were arguing.

Booth clenched his teeth and his fist as she pulled away from his hand. He hadn't realized he was doing it or he wouldn't have in the first place. Questioning whether to be pissed or satisfied that she was hyperaware enough of him to notice the common gesture, he put his clenched fist back at his side and focused on the job at hand.

"How long ago did he "bugger" off?" Brennan questioned. Tristan gestured to the couch, implying that they take a seat.

"Was it abnormal for him to do so? You didn't report him missing." Booth snuck a glance at Brennan as she sat on the offered couch. Booth sat, not sure how comfortable he felt sitting on anything in this building. He could feel his armani suit pleading with him to reconsider as he settled into the furniture. He sat as far from Brennan as possible and he could tell that she noticed when her jaw firmed up and her grip on her knees tightened. He envied her the skirt she was wearing in the humid environment. He swallowed hard trying not to wonder if what she wore beneath it was just as airy. He didn't notice pantyhose.

"whoa, twenty questions or what."

"That was only two questions and a statement Mr. Hughes."

"Tristan, please and is she serious?"

"As a heart attack." Booth smirked, knowing he reminded her of her previously embarassing attempt at slang. "_As a gas attack" _Really.

"Please answer the two questions Mr Hughes."

"He took off about 3 months ago. He was planning a trip with his honey and had booked a couple weeks off. I figured that he just skipped out and stayed somewhere tropical and warm. He was never a huge fan of the city." He shrugged.

"His parents didn't mention that in their statement." Booth sat forward and regarded him.

"Probably didn't know. They weren't exactly tight. The cops had nothing substantial when he first disappeared and implied that they figured he just got tired of his life in the city, wanted to start new. Made sense at the time." He rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, rubbing his face.

"Do you know the girlfriends name Mr Hughes?" Brennan pulled out her notepad as she asked.

"Amanda was her first name, I didn't know her last. He never mentioned it. She was the kinda girl who really didn't have her shit together. The kind of girl that guys were looking to fall in line to help out. Brian couldn't stand seeing her living with so little, making so little of herself and he tried to help. He commented at the end that things were getting a little shaky, that she was getting a little clingy, a little jealous, but he figured it was normal and that the trip they had planned would help."

"Apparently not. Where did you last see him?"

"At work, the day before his vacation was planned. S'why I didn't think much of it. Shit Bri, what did you get yourself into?" He asked his head hung slightly and his hand rubbing his forehead while he sat up straighter.

"He can't hear you." Brennan stated. Booth looked at her disbelieving, as did Tristan.

"It was a rhetorical question Dr. Brennan." His voice sounded defeated and sad. She felt bad for a moment and decided to make herself feel better.

"We'd like to see his room now if that's ok. Unless you've rented it out to someone else?" Booth kept looking ahead, not believing the little tidbit of information she had left out.

"Nah, rent here isn't too expensive, believe it or not." He smiled. "I was gonna wait a little bit longer before packing his stuff up. Was still hoping to hear from him." He shook his head. "it's right through there." He pointed to the room on the left that opened up off the living room where they were sitting.

"Thanks" Booth muttered as him and his partner entered the room. "We'll need a few minutes."

Booth shut the door behind him and rounded on his partner.

"Are you kidding me?" Brennan brought her head up in a defiant, defensive pose.

"I don't recall making a joke Booth."

"Don't pull that literal crap right now Bones." Booth advanced on her a few steps. "You should have told me." Booth was trying hard to keep from raising his voice.

"You should have read the file in the first place. It's not my job to do all the tedious work and brief you on the highlights, Nor is it my job to keep track of which details of a case you bother to peruse."

He was practically shaking with anger at her for being partially right. She knew that this case had different circumstances and that they were not on equal footing from the beginning on this case. The two of them were not exactly on steady ground. He was to blame for the first, she for the second. He was sure that she would claim both to be his fault.

They stared at eachother for a minute while Booth slowly calmed his breathing, noticing that her chest was heaving with the exhilaration of her anger. Her eyes were cool boring into his. He pulled his gaze away from hers almost painfully and focused it on the room around him.

"We need a picture of the girlfriend. Check his computer desktop. We also need to find some evidence of where he went the night he was killed and why he didn't make it on his anticipated vacation." Brennan, not one for taking orders ,started looking in the drawers by his bed. This left Booth to check his computer desktop, effectively making him take his own orders.

After printing a picture of the girl and coming up empty handed on his whereabouts the night of his murder, they reentered the common area. Tristan was sitting where they had left him with his head in his hands. Hearing them exit the bedroom he lifted his head and looked at them.

"What was the date when you last saw him?" Booth questioned

"Would have been..."He paused. "May 28th. He was leaving on the Thursday cause it's cheaper if you don't fly on the weekend."

"And where were you the night of the 28th?"

"I had worked a 17 hour shift that ended at 7 that night. I was at home sleeping by 9."

"Do you have anybody to back up that statement."

Tristan shook his head in response to Booth's question.

"I didn't kill him. Why would I kill him? If I did I'd have reported him missing. I should have a reported him missing." He reflected for a moment before standing up and walking to the door.

"If that's all, I have a few calls I need to make."

"That's all Mr Hughes. I have to request that you not leave the area until this case is wrapped up."

"Whatever man, just find the bastard who did this."

Booth nodded, looking the guy in the eye, as he and Brennan left the apartment.

**Can you feel the tension increasing between them?? Can you? I can, and it can only get better!**

**Back to the lab next with a load of case stuff in between tension and fluff!**

**As I mentioned, I'm going on vacation for the weekend and will be pining away to check my email to see if I got reviews...feel free to make my monday brighter!**


	9. The Unity in the Squints

_Wow, it's been a long time guys and I'm sorry! I haven't been feeling the writing and decided to force myself back into it. Hopefully this isn't off, but if so, will hopefully get better and better as I get back to immersing myself in these characters._

_Finally got a little bit of action in the story for you guys. _

The silence in the air was palpable and thick with underlying vibes. The shrilling of Booth's phone cut it, and made both partners jump a little.

"Booth"

There was silence for a minute as they pulled into the Jeffersonian parking lot.

"Four? Is the search completed? Great, yea, we'll be right there." Booth hung up his phone as he pulled into a parking spot.

"Heh, see that?" Booth looked entirely too pleased with himself "They called me, not you, cause I'm an FBI Agent who works for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I'm the guy they call first"

"Just because I didn't receive the call, doesn't make my job any less necessary, and, they only called you because you work with me. When I got there, there was no crime scene. Now there is, because my expertise lead to that conclusion." She unbuckled and jumped out of the car looking smug.

"I make that call every day." Booth slammed the door.

"You hardly do it every day Booth. Brennan started walking to the entrance. "The FBI just called to tell us that there are four more bodies? I'll get my stuff, and Dr Hodgins."

Booth started to comment on Bones saying that they had called them, instead of him, but then his mind caught up with Bones mouth.

Booth stopped and leaned back slightly as he put his arms out in a "why?" type gesture.

"Bugboy again? Is that really necessary Bones?" he asked with a wince pasted on his face. She looked back at him as she kept walking.

"I wouldn't have said he was coming if he wasn't necessary." Booth wondered if that was true, or if she was keeping him around so that the two of them were not alone without a witness.

"They called to tell ME about the bodies" Booth grumbled to content himself as he began walking again to catch up to his partner.

After picking up Hodgin's and the equipment, the team proceeded to the crime scene, as classified by Dr. Brennan.

"This site is pretty sandy. I'll bet there are phlebotominae. Nasty, small, biting little dudes." Hodgins' blue eyes were wide with excitement as if the common sand fly wasn't something he'd seen repeatedly since, and before, getting his multiple degrees.

"That's just wrong. A grown man shouldn't get so excited about a bug unless it's I dunno, big and poisonous or something." Booth turned back around and continued walking to the crime scene just ahead.

"Actually that's a common mistake, it's usually the smaller of the species who are more deadly. Their venom is more concentrated and they are not as practiced at controlling the amounts that they exude..." At Booth's look of frustration and disinterest, Hodgins continued

"and you don't care" He looked at Brennan "He doesn't care." Brennan shook her head.

"Nail on the head. You stick to your ..microscoping" Booth held up one finger and pointed it at Hodgins, "and I'll stick to my investigating" He held up the other finger and pointed it to himself "and never the twain shall meet. " Booth moved his fingers apart, showing how the two would never meet. "Capiche?"

"That makes no sense Booth, Without Dr. Hodgins, or my microscoping, which by the way is not a word, you would not have the tools required to solve these murders. The twain do meet." She smiled brightly as she looked slightly confused about the term she'd just used. The look on her face made him have to remind himself that he was angry with her.

"I don't need you to solve murders. I'm a perfectly capable investigator without having squints squinting at my evidence. I have my own lab with perfectly qualified lab people who could examine my evidence for me just as well my nerd herd version of the Scooby gang" He sighed in frustration. He pointed at Brennan "and I know you don't know what that means." He exclaimed beating her to her catch phrase. Both of his squints looked unconvinced and unimpressed by his proclaimation.

They arrived at the site where the 4 new bodies were found. The three of them stood in a line side by side. Brennan put her hand up over her eyes like a visor and squinted.

"So...Who are they?" Brennan asked. Booth looked over to her.

"I'll just whip out my recently evolved psychic powers and get right on that Bones." Booth said sarcastically. Brennan struggled momentarily while deciding if she should comment on the psychic comment or the evolution comment. Her hatred for psychology made the choice for her.

"Psychic powers don't exist, and if they did, they would not assist you in this situation. I don't know much about it considering it's not a real phenomenon," Brennan stated matter of factly "but I'm pretty sure that a brain and brain function are required elements."

"Seance it is then!" Hodgins stated and rubbed his hands together excitedly "Awesome." Booth was clearly confused by why his squints were standing around talking ghost stories instead of doing their job.

"Yea , uh ok, whatever" He made an after you gesture.

"Seeing as how you don't require our assistance, I assumed you knew who the victims were." Brennan tried to tell Booth without a smirk. Booth took a deep breath.

"Do you see a microscope? I don't see a microscope." Booth pointed at his chest with both hands. "What I see is the minutes of my investigation ticking by while you two discuss ghost stories. Now, what do you say we do some work?" Booth ushered Brennan forward, much to her annoyance, then looked up to the skies, closed his eyes and sent up a little prayer that he wouldn't kill any of the squints before the day was done.

The scene had been hot, and they were all covered in sweat and dirt. He was thirsty and pissed off. He couldn't explain it, but seeing the unity between Bones and Hodgins, which was usually reserved for himself and Bones, had made the whole situation worse. The car ride back to the Jeffersonian had been silent.

What right does she have being this angry at him for something out of his control? He'd done the right things, he put her on his list. He thought that meant something. It was after all, a list that pretty much only contained his immediate family, and Becca because she's Parkers mother. She's the one who, thinking he was dead, didn't cry at his funeral, she hit him and she barged in on him in the bath. Where does she get off being mad at him? Beyond being mad at him, she's trying to push him away with her temper. He could handle yelling or even tears, but he is not ok with her trying to freeze him out and avoid him.

He'd already dropped the squints off at the Jeffersonian and there was not much left to do as it was 6 o'clock already. He'd usually invite Bones to the diner to make sure that she ate something, but he already knew her answer and didn't need the rejection right now. It was time to close up shop for the night and head home.

The more Booth thought about it, the angrier he got. When he hadn't heard from her by 2pm the next day, he began to see the whole situation through a haze of red. It's one thing to let their personal relationship suffer, but to not contact him regarding the case, that was an entirely different scenario. He was working very hard at convincing himself that he was only angry because she was letting their professional relationship suffer, but he was pretty certain he was losing miserably.

He decided to stop waiting for some indication that they had evidence for him and grabbed his jacket roughly off of his chair and headed to visit his squints.

As Booth approached the platform he saw Bones standing at an examination table. He hadn't been sure what he was going to say, and he still wasn't, but he knew that he couldn't let this go further. He swiped up on the platform and approached her.

She didn't seem to notice his presence until he was beside her and grabbing her by the elbow.

"We need to talk" Booth looked her intensely in the eye as he started to half drag her off the platform.

"Booth." She spoke loudly "Surely this can wait until later". The cold tone and absence of any "alpha male tendency" lecture or manhandling complaints just pissed him off even more. He made a disbelieving noise as he continued to half drag her to her office. Trying not to make a scene, Brennan pulled her arm free, but continued to her office.

Booth ushered her in first then shut the door behind him. Brennan's temper was starting to peak from his manhandling and demanding nature.

"What the hell is wrong with you Booth?" Brennan started at the same time the Booth confessed that they need to talk.

"Whatever is going on here Bones, this childishness needs to end." They were standing just inside her door but the distance between them was more than tangible.

"Childishness? When you get over your possessive tantrum regarding the crime scene, please let me know. In the mean time I have work to do." She started to push past him but he grabbed her arm and turned her back to face him.

"Whoa whoa whoa. You overstepped your boundaries going to that crime scene without me! On top of that, we're supposed to be partners. You led me in blind."

"I had every right to take an offered consulting job, as I don't work for you Booth! You would have known the facts for this case, were you not so angry with me for doing my job that you neglected doing your own." She turned again to exit her office but turned back.

"And, being partners goes both ways. Tit for Tut." He didn't bother correcting her but turned to her as she opened the door.

"We can't keep working this way Bones." Booth stated looking angry and defeated.

"I couldn't agree more." Her temper was still evident on her face and she turned away before he could read anything more into her expression.

Booth kicked the frame in her doorway before hightailing it to Cam's office to get the details of the case so far.

"Mark Brody, Anthony Turner, Jeff Miller, and Andrew McBride. A cop, a doctor, a professor and another firefighter. All between the ages of 26 and 32." Cam told Booth while reading from the file. She flipped it shut and set it on the table behind her as she leaned back against her desk, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Cause of Death?" As Cam opened her mouth to begin Booth cut her off "No squint speak" She began explaining cause of death as she stifled a smile.

"All appear to be straight forward strangulation. The men were all buried naked as no clothes were discovered at the crime scene. Hodgins is analyzing any particulates as we speak. The oldest was buried 7 months ago, the newest appears to be about 2 weeks old."

"Thanks Cam" Booth grabbed the printout of the information and headed for the door.

"Trouble in Paradise Seely?" Booth threw up his arm with his print out and waved the paper at her.

"Mind your own business Camille."

Not only did he have a serial on his hands, but he and Bones were not working . Great.

By looking at the victim's photos, he had determined that they were of a similar muscular build, and were all what he supposed women would consider attractive. He hated giving the news to the parents. It was always the worst. It was bad watching a spouse break down, or a child contemplate their life without their parent, but it was different telling the parents, because it was telling someone that all their joy, their work, their legacy and the true love of their life was gone. There is no way to replace that bond. He could understand that. None of these men had spouses, although the second firefighter had a five year old little girl with an ex girl friend. Tomorrow he would have to begin interviewing the friends to see if he could find a commonality between these 5 guys. He would also need to start looking into the girlfriend of firefighter number one. There were no girlfriends for the other 4, and this felt like a female crime; someone who seriously has it out for men.

He knew that there was something that needed to be solved before he continued this case and he kept that in mind as he banged on her door. What the hell was she thinking, all but saying that they should not work together anymore? He admitted that sometimes it was difficult, but that was mainly because he had trouble not pushing her up against or on to the nearest surface, pulling her skirt up over her hips and proving to her that they were a hell of a lot more than coffee. She was always so controlled, and just for once he wanted to see her lose it for him, preferably while naked with him slamming into her.

"Open up Bones!" He kept banging on the door, knowing that she hadn't had time to get there yet.

"Bones! Chop chop." Another few bangs on the door seemed to do it cause she whipped open the door looking mega pissed.

"What do you want Booth, that is so urgent you can't give me time to get to the door?" She had to know he was coming over, or this is what he tells himself as he looks at her grey Capri sweat pants, bare feet and braless spaghetti strap shirt. He gives her a once over and steps around her into her apartment.

"I didn't invite you in Booth." She closed the door roughly and spun around to look at him, hands on her hips. He slips off his shoes as he begins to take off his jacket.

"I know you didn't, but I've always known that your people skills are lacking"

"Why are you taking off.." She huffed out a breath and changed tactics "don't take off your jacket Booth!" She rushed over to where he had set it down and tossed it back at him.

"Your hostess skills are seriously lacking there, Bones." Booth eyed the movement of her breasts appreciatively as she threw his jacket at him, then set it down on a different chair.

"I've found that being amicable towards people often gives the impression that you desire their presence. Since you are intruding and are in fact not welcome, I think that my manner is very appropriate."

She saw the slightly amused glint that was almost masking Booth's anger disappear. Booth took a step towards her and she felt herself start to take a step back, but prevented herself, as the urge to do so was irrational.

"You know what Bones, I don't really give a shit what you've found or what kind of manner you choose to take. I'm sick of this bull, and I'm done with it. If you think that because I hurt your feelings, you can put our partnership and our case in jeopardy then you're not as smart as you claim to be. I'm sorry I upset you, we've been over this, and over this but I.."

"You didn't hurt my feelings Booth, I'm very good at compartmentalizing. Life goes on and it's not rational to.." this time it was Booth's turn to cut her off as he leaned further into her personal space. They were still standing in her entry way.

"Well as good as it is to know that my dying has such a little effect on your emotional state, if that's not the problem Bones, then you gotta help me out here."

"I told you, it's a simple matter of trust. You didn't tell me.."

"I didn't tell my own damned son! What part of national security do you not understand? It gets a little fishy if the supposed dead guy turns up making calls to his grieving relatives, and of course his I'm so tough not a goddamned thing can touch me partner." He took a few steps towards her until she was forced to give her ground.

"I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to use the lords name in vain, Booth. While I don't practice such, being non-religious, I..." She stopped rambling when she realized that she was.

"I don't have time for this Booth." She started to turn away from him and head back to her laptop, but he grabbed both her forearms and pulled her up flush against him.

"Well you're gonna have to make time Bones because I'm not done." Her anger was rising again. What right did he have manhandling her and making demands of her time. She went very still as her breathing increased with her temper.

"Let go of me Booth." When he didn't immediately comply she broke the wrist hold he on her and shoved him. How dare he act like what happen is supposed to, in no way, affect her. She hated him for doing that to her, and for making her think and behave so irrationally. He followed her as she walked into her living room.

"Fine Bones, but don't you dare think that you can walk away from our partnership so easily. And, I hate to break it to you, but this is hardly rational, your hissy fits are hardly rational. Life is not rational and you can compartmentalize as much as you want, but it doesn't just make the world go away." She stopped and turned towards him, just short of her desk.

"You think that I don't know that Booth? You think that I didn't," She stopped, shook her head and started to turned away and walked over to her desk.

"You didn't what Bones?" When she continued to ignore him he went on. "I think that I know you aren't as rational as you like to think you are and I've seen much lesser things affect you."

"Well, then the obvious conclusion is that they clearly weren't lesser things." She said it calmly, not even thinking about the words as she ruffled through the articles on her desk looking for the one she wanted to read. Moments after she said it, she realized her mistake and a few seconds of silence made her turn around. He stared her in the eye for a moment, holding himself eerily still and calm, before turning and heading towards the door. He was about half way there before she realized that she couldn't let him leave like that. That as much as a part of her wants to push him out of her life, she wanted it to be his fault, not hers.

Just as he was half way to the door he heard her call out his name. He didn't want to hear it. She pushed it. He took a lot of her shit but he'd be damned if he'd stand around and take her all but telling him that he doesn't matter to her. He knows that she doesn't mean it, but can't believe that her own pride in her unemotional existence would take precedence over their relationship. Well she could bloody well have her reputation and all that goes with it. He felt her hand on his shoulder pulling him roughly around just as he reached for the door.

"I didn't mean it." He'd damn well prove to her that she didn't mean it.

He didn't hesitate as he grabbed her around the waist, effectively switching their positions and pushed her up against her door. She was breathing quickly and her hands were clutching his arms, not pushing or pulling. He could feel her chest heaving against his as she pulled in rapid breaths. He wanted more.

"Look at me and say it" He wanted to hear her say it and look her in the eye when she did. He wanted her to admit the reason she'd been shutting him out cause he was sick of this. He wanted her. He could see her shift in mood when he told her to repeat herself. She went immediately from apologetic to stubborn and annoyed. It was fine by him, he had had plenty of methods to prove it.

He brought his lips crashing down on hers as he crushed her into the door.

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